1,721,176 research outputs found
Hydropinotherapy with sulphurous mineral water as complementary treatment to improve glucose metabolism, oxidative status, and quality of life
Full text linkHydropinotherapy is a salus per aquam (Spa) treatment suitable as a complementary approach to treat several diseases, which strongly affect the quality of life (QoL). Hydropinotherapy with sulphurous mineral water exerts benefits thanks to components, such as hydrogen sulphide, which is considered mainly responsible for antioxidant and hypoglycaemic effects. Such properties, linked from each other, could favour an improvement in patients’ QoL. However, data on humans are scarce. This study aimed to investigate whether a cycle of sulphurous hydropinotherapy was able to modify plasma levels of glucose and reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) and improve QoL in patients suffering from several chronic disorders. A prospective, observational study involved patients with gastrointestinal diseases who received a prescription of a cycle of sulphurous hy-dropinotherapy (S-HT). Age-and sex-matched control group was enrolled (No S-HT). Glycaemia and plasma concentration of ROMs were measured in all subjects. The impact of spa treatment on the QoL was assessed using the Short Form 36 Health Status Survey questionnaire (SF-36). All parameters were measured at baseline and at the end of a 2-week treatment. Between the groups, no differences were found in glycaemia and ROMs at baseline. In the S-HT group, a reduction in glycaemia and ROMs, both in respect to baseline (p = 0.005 and p = 0.031, respectively) and to control group, as shown by the delta value calculated, as the difference between the values at 2 weeks and baseline (p = 0.0009 and p = 0.0001, respectively). In the S-HT, delta ROMs was the best predictor of delta glycaemia with a direct linear correlation (beta = 0.559, 95% CI 0.471 to 0.647, p < 0.0001). In the S-HT, the SF-36 total score was improved both when compared with baseline (p = 0.002) and with No S-HT (p = 0.001). Sulphurous hydropinotherapy induces a decrease in glycaemia and ROM levels, also ameliorating the patients’ QoL. Therefore, it could be considered a useful complementary therapeutic approach
Importance and Meaning of TERRA Sequences for Aging Mechanisms
Full text linkAbstract: Any theory suggesting an adaptive meaning for aging implicitly postulates the existence of specific mechanisms, genetically determined and modulated, causing progressive decline of an organism. According to the subtelomere–telomere theory, each telomere is covered by a hood formed in the first cell of an organism having a size preserved at each subsequent duplication. Telomere shortening, which is quantitatively different for each cell type according to the telomerase regulation, causes the hood to slide on the subtelomere repressing it by the telomeric position effect. At this point, the theory postulates existence of subtelomeric regulatory sequences, whose progressive transcriptional repression by the hood should cause cellular alterations that would be the likely determinant of aging manifestations. However, sequences with characteristics of these hypothetical sequences have already been described and documented. They are the [sub]TElomeric Repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) sequences. The repression of TERRA sequences causes progressively: (i) down- or up-regulation of many other regulatory sequences; (ii) increase in the probability of activation of cell senescence program (blockage of the ability to replicate and very significant alterations of the cellular functions). When cell senescence program has not been triggered and the repression is partial, there is a partial alteration of the cellular functions that is easily reversible by telomerase activation. Location of the extremely important sequences in chromosomal parts that are most vulnerable to repression by the telomeric hood is evolutionarily unjustifiable if aging is not considered adaptive: this location must be necessarily adaptive with the specific function of determining aging of the cell and consequently of the whole organism
Targeting oxidative stress for improving cardiovascular performance in the elderly
Full text linkOxidative stress is implicated in the pathophysiology of several cardiovascular diseases, as evidenced by correlation between oxidative stress markers and Heart Failure (HF) and by direct molecular evidence for an etiological role of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS play an important role in signalling processes, but their overproduction generates oxidative stress. Previous studies demonstrated that HF was associated with antioxidant deficit as well as increased oxidative stress. Furthermore, these changes correlated with the hemodynamic function, suggesting their role in the pathogenesis of cardiac dysfunction. An important mechanism involved in cellular cardiovascular response is represented by sirtuins. SIRT1 inhibition determines suppression of genes ac tivated by exposure to heat shock, on the contrary, SIRT1 activation enhances the heat shock response. Then the ability of SIRT1 to modulate stress resistance is multifaceted and not only linked to oxidative stress, but also to other stressful stimuli. Recently several studies have demonstrated the capability of physical activity to induce SIRT1 activity and, in turn, the ability of this enzyme to mediate the favourable antioxidant effects of the exercise training. Other agents able to induce SIRT1 activity have demonstrated some effects on cardiac function. Resveratrol supplementation has been shown to decrease cardiovascular risk factors, and the positive effect of resveratrol on training response and aerobic capacity in rats to be mediated via SIRT1. The future research should be addressed to better clarify the possible role of the antioxidants therapy in clinical studies, in particular defining a standardization of procedures, doses and duration of treatment
Metabolic indices of polyunsaturated fatty acids: current evidence, research controversies, and clinical utility
No full textThe n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are among the most studied nutrients in human metabolism. In the past few decades, prospective studies and controlled trials have supported the view that the effects of these essential fatty acids are clinically relevant. PUFA profiles in different blood compartments are reflections of both diet and metabolism, and their levels may be related to disease risk. Despite widespread interest, there is no consensus regarding which biomarkers best reflect PUFA status in the body. The measurement of PUFA levels is not straight-forward, and a wide variety of indices have been used in clinical studies, producing conflicting results. A major source of heterogeneity among studies is associated with research design, sampling, and laboratory analyses. To date, the n-3 index, n-6/n-3 ratio, and arachidonic acid (AA)/eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ratio are the most promising biomarkers associated with PUFA metabolism. Although hotly debated, these indices may be considered at least markers, if not risk factors, for several diseases, especially cardiovascular events and brain disorders. Here, we summarize the most updated evidence of n-3 and n-6 PUFA effects on human health, reviewing current controversies on the aforementioned indices and whether they can be considered valuable predictors of clinical outcomes
Sex/Gender- and Age-Related Differences in β-Adrenergic Receptor Signaling in Cardiovascular Diseases
Full text linkSex differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) are often recognized from experimental and clinical studies examining the prevalence, manifestations, and response to therapies. Compared to age-matched men, women tend to have reduced CV risk and a better prognosis in the premenopausal period. However, with menopause, this risk increases exponentially, surpassing that of men. Although several mechanisms have been provided, including sex hormones, an emerging role in these sex differences has been suggested for β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) signaling. Importantly, β-ARs are the most important G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), expressed in almost all the cell types of the CV system, and involved in physiological and pathophysiological processes. Consistent with their role, for decades, βARs have been considered the first targets for rational drug design to fight CVDs. Of note, β-ARs are seemingly associated with different CV outcomes in females compared with males. In addition, even if there is a critical inverse correlation between β-AR responsiveness and aging, it has been reported that gender is crucially involved in this age-related effect. This review will discuss how β-ARs impact the CV risk and response to anti-CVD therapies, also concerning sex and age. Further, we will explore how estrogens impact β-AR signaling in women
Exercise training in aging and diseases.
Full text linkSedentary lifestyle along with high blood pressure, abnormal values for blood lipids, smoking, and obesity are recognized risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and for many other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, osteoporosis, breast and colon cancer. Several studies conducted on large cohort of individuals have documented the protective effects of physical activity for both vascular and nonvascular syndromes. Exercise training is an integral part of cardiac rehabilitation, a complex therapeutic approach, effective both in young and elderly patients. Despite the number of evidences underling the benefits associated with physical fitness, the cardiac rehabilitation is still an underused medical resource. The molecular mechanism behind physical activity protective effect is presently unresolved, and further studies are also needed to establish the best protocol in terms of specificity, volume and duration of the training
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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